Spencer Dinwiddie has become a villain to fans of the Washington Wizards after his disappointing short stint with the team. Dinwiddie arrived at the Wizards in the summer of 2021 in a sign-and-trade. Fresh off recovering from a torn ACL, Dinwiddie left the Brooklyn Nets to ink a three-year, $54 million deal with the Wizards.
However, Dinwiddie lasted 44 games with the Wizards before he wore out of his welcome on the team. Dinwiddie opened up about his departure from the Wizards during a recent interview.
“I thought I was coming to a situation where I was going to play No. 2 to Brad [Beal], and Brad was going to do his 30-point thing, and we were going to try and piece this whole thing together and try to build towards winning,” Dinwiddie told Bleacher Report’s, Taylor Rooks. “That’s what I was told, and that’s what I planned on doing. But then, when the narrative started to get spun they were saying I wanted to run the team or whatever. I was like ‘Bruh, I didn’t even sign here to do that.'”
Dinwiddie added that the Wizards were going in different directions with multiple agendas. He said there was no actual plan once the season came along. The team had no identity, which prompted him to question what the Wizards were trying to do.
“We had Rui [Hachimura] coming back from what he was struggling with. Deni [Avdija] was supposed to be like the second coming of Luka [Doncic]. You got Brad, who’s obviously the max guy. You got the [Los Angeles] Lakers guys coming over who want to establish themselves independently of LeBron… It was where I was just saying like, ‘What are we doing?'” Dinwiddie added.
The Wizards traded Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Dinwiddie has been the scapegoat for why the Wizards underperformed during 2021-22. However, Washington doesn’t appear to be any closer to a true identity.
Kyle Kuzma is the only one left of the “Lakers guys.” The Wizards traded Montrezl Harrell last year and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this summer. Coincidentally, Kuzma has been trying the most to prove he can thrive away from LeBron’s shadow.
Despite having a trio of stars with Beal, Porzingis, and Kuzma, the Wizards have struggled this season. Washington is now 32-41 and 2.5 games out of the play-in tournament following Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. It remains questionable if the Big three can lead Washington to the playoffs.
The Wizards are still waiting on Avdija’s maturation, as he is nowhere near the level of Doncic. Washington remains stuck in purgatory much like they’ve been since the end of the John Wall era.
Spencer Dinwiddie is now back with the Nets. The Mavericks shipped him to Brooklyn as part of the Kyrie Irving trade.
Like it or not, Dinwiddie’s thoughts of the Wizards last season remain in this campaign. Carving out specific roles has long been an issue with Washington. Whether it was Dinwiddie, Wall, or Russell Westbrook, the Wizards have lacked chemistry on the court and a plan moving further along.
